The State Theatre for the Arts on Saturday celebrated the theater's restored blade and marquee by lighting up the night sky with the letters S-T-A-T-E shining brightly above Red Bluff again.

Community members lined a closed off portion of Oak Street in anticipation for the lighting of the marquee and blade restored by Fernando Duarte Design. Theater supporters and donors enjoyed drinks inside and in the recently remodeled patio behind The Green Room studio.

Bill Cornelius, past president of the theater's board, said Saturday's celebration was a "watershed moment" in the theater's history and the community.

Cornelius said as a 5-year-old boy in the 1950s he remembered turning on Antelope Boulevard, before there was an Antelope Boulevard, off Highway 36 and suddenly seeing the State Theatre sign flashing.

He said as a boy who lived in the Manton area, "That sign was bigger than life, and absolutely amazing."

Joe Vine, president of the theater's board, said, "The State Theatre is back, and we are absolutely here to stay."

Vine highlighted other restoration projects the theater has explored, such as the update to the theater's interior marquee, and plans to update the theater's concession stand and curtains.

The blade and marquee restoration project was said to cost about $75,000. The theater last year received a $65,000 grant from the McConnell Fund of the Shasta College Community Foundation to aid in the project.

The theater's blade and marquee were restored to resemble their original specifications.

As Vine counted down from 10 Saturday night to mark both the lighting of the marquee and blade, onlookers met the bright neon lights with "Oohs" and "Ahhs."

Cornelius said the theater's supporters are helping to restore the theater from what it was in 1946, to what it will be in 2016.

"To me," Cornelius said, "the success of this project is not that we have raised $750,000 in three short years, but rather the level and magnitude and unconditional support our efforts have received from virtually every segment of this community. Tonight's event demonstrates that support as well."